Choose by the shape of your work. Small trade firms do best with simple job management that an engineer can use on a phone; larger contractors with projects and assets need deeper field service software. Whichever you pick, follow one real job from booking to invoice before you commit.
An engineer starts the day with five jobs on a phone, finishes three, picks up an emergency call at lunchtime and leaves a parts note for the office. By teatime, someone needs to know what to invoice. Any replacement for Commusoft has to cope with that day. Below are seven field service and job management tools, in no particular order.
Field service tools by the kind of firm they serve
Commusoft's own homepage pitches field service management for commercial service businesses. The alternatives here cover a wider spread, from one-van operators to multi-team contractors, so start by finding your size.
Small trade businesses and tradies
Fergus and ServiceM8 are pitched at trade contractors who want jobs, paperwork and customers under control without a long setup. They suit electricians, plumbers and builders running a handful of vans.
Home service companies that dispatch all day
Workiz and FieldPulse focus on scheduling, dispatch and getting invoices out quickly, which suits firms that run many short jobs a day and need the office and the van in sync.
Larger contractors with assets and compliance
Simpro, Joblogic and FieldEdge go deeper into projects, assets, compliance and service history. They make sense when you maintain equipment for customers over years, not only fix one-off faults. The UK-built option in this group is worth a look if you work to UK compliance paperwork.
None of these groups is better than the others; they're built for different days. A small firm will feel boxed in by heavy asset modules, and a large contractor will outgrow a simple job app quickly.
It's also worth asking how each tool handles quotes. Many trade firms win or lose work on how fast a quote goes out after a site visit, so check whether an engineer can build and send one from the van, and whether an accepted quote turns into a scheduled job without anyone retyping the details.
Seven Commusoft replacements, A to Z
Alphabetical and in no particular order. Each description reflects the vendor's own words about its product.
Fergus
Best for: Electricians, plumbers, builders, HVAC firms and roofers managing jobs from enquiry onwards; the vendor says it's built for tradies.
FieldEdge
Best for: Established service companies that want customer records, dispatch and full service history in one system, as the vendor describes.
FieldPulse
Best for: Growing field teams wanting scheduling, invoicing, communication and team management in one place, per the vendor's homepage.
Joblogic
Best for: UK trade businesses managing jobs, engineers, assets, compliance, quotes and invoices in one cloud system, according to the vendor.
ServiceM8
Best for: Trade contractors and home service businesses wanting job tracking and a CRM that cuts paperwork, with a free trial the vendor names.
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Simpro
Best for: Contractors running larger jobs who want job, project and asset management linking the field and the office, per the vendor.
Workiz
Best for: Home service businesses that schedule, dispatch, invoice and track performance in one place, which the vendor lists on its homepage.
Field service software compared
| Tool | Software type | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Fergus | Trade job management | Electricians, plumbers and builders running jobs |
| FieldEdge | Field service management | Tracking customers, dispatch and service history |
| FieldPulse | Field service management | Scheduling, invoicing and team messaging together |
| Joblogic | UK field service software | UK trades handling engineers, assets and compliance |
| ServiceM8 | Job tracking and CRM | Contractors cutting paperwork on home service jobs |
| Simpro | Field service and project management | Bigger jobs with projects and asset management |
| Workiz | Home service platform | Dispatching and invoicing jobs from one screen |
Straight advice for trade and field teams
Ask your engineers before you ask the vendors. The office will choose on reports and invoicing, but if the app is fiddly on a phone in the rain, jobs won't get updated and the reports will be wrong anyway. Shortlist two or three tools, give a couple of engineers a login each, and let them run real jobs for a week. Keep your existing system live until the new one has handled a full invoicing cycle. For wider shortlists, see my guide to the best field service management software in the UK and my list of job management software.
Think about your accounting package too. Most firms want invoices to flow into their accounts without retyping, so check that the connection exists for the package you use and test it with a real invoice, not a sample.
Run one job from call to invoice
- Take a real enquiry from last week and enter it as a new job, with the customer's details and address.
- Schedule it to an engineer and check it appears on their phone with the right notes and directions.
- Have the engineer complete it on site, adding photos, materials used and a customer signature.
- Raise the invoice from the finished job without retyping anything, and send it to yourself as a test.
- Check the job, the invoice and the customer's history all match in one place, then repeat with a second tool.
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Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between job management and field service management software?
The terms overlap. Job management tools tend to target smaller trade firms running jobs and invoices, while field service management platforms often add assets, contracts and compliance for larger contractors.
Do engineers need a smartphone app?
In practice, yes. Engineers update jobs, add photos and collect signatures on site, so test the mobile app with the people who'll use it every day.
Can field service software connect to my accounts package?
Many connect to common accounting packages. Confirm the connection for the one you use and test it with a real invoice before you switch over.
How long does it take to move to new field service software?
It depends on how much history you bring across. Moving customers and open jobs is usually quick; service history and asset records take longer, so plan a parallel run.
Do I need special software for compliance certificates?
Some platforms include certificate and compliance forms for regulated trades. Requirements vary by trade and country, so check the regulator's guidance for the work you do.
